


Back to Basics: A Vessel’s Guide to Hunting for Fun and (No) Profit

by WarlockWriter



Series: Salvation 'Verse [5]
Category: Supernatural, The Agency (TV 2001), The Evil Gene (2015)
Genre: Angel Blades (Supernatural), Case Fic, Gen, Griff is SO DONE with Winchester FBI impersonation, Hunter Training, Lex hates Winchester motel choices, Why DOES Lex drive a Honda Civic?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 01:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18377711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WarlockWriter/pseuds/WarlockWriter
Summary: Griff and Lex have agreed to help the Winchesters in their fight against AU!Michael. But first they need to learn some basic hunting skills. And go on their first hunt!Case Fic with Griff and Lex working a case with Sam and Dean while Gabriel stays at the Bunker to finish binging Netflix shows. "Because having an archangel along would make it too easy."This is a bridge story between "Salvation Across Universes" and my upcoming sequel to "Out of Hell Leads Up to Light." Otherwise known as "Lex and Griff didn't listen when I told them they have to sit out the big fight." Rich characters are so stubborn!Thanks toHixyStixfor the title andGabrielLivesfor the beta read.This story also fills the Free space on the Non-Gabe Rich Bingo.





	1. Chapter 1

Gabriel and Sam Winchester drove off to wherever it was they were going while Lex and Griff stayed behind for Lex to quit his job and close down his affairs. They’d accepted the offer to learn to hunt and assist the Winchesters in this whatever it was--battle, war, rear guard action?--with an archangel from another universe.

Griff had never known there were so many universes or that he’d be involved with more than one of them. He was up to four now. His own, which he’d never see again according to Gabriel and Lex; this one, which was the home universe of Lex, Gabriel and Sam; the one Michael was trying to invade from, and the one he and Lex had just come from and where they’d met Bill Koehler, another of Gabriel’s vessels--apparently the archangel had a lot of them--and Bill’s wife, Sarah and had helped save a town called Jericho in Kansas.

As they left, Sam had given them directions to a place called “The Bunker, Lebanon, KS.” Griff looked it up on the iPhone Lex had gotten for him. What he saw made him groan.

“What?” Lex asked from where he was working at his computer.

“You thought Jericho was small,” Griff said. “Lebanon is even smaller. Around 200 people.”

“Ugh,” was all he said, but Griff knew what he meant. While Griff had spent some of his life in the Midwest, both of them were basically city boys. “Maybe we’ll spend a lot of our time hunting.”

“Maybe,” Griff said doubtfully. “So what do you need to do to get ready to go, and how long do you think it will take?”

Lex shrugged. “I need to quit my job, get some financial stuff in order and the like. Maybe a couple of days?”

“Sounds good,” Griff said as he pulled up driving directions to Lebanon and groaned again. Lex had said he wanted to keep his car, a practically new Honda Civic. Griff had asked him about that, considering how much of a spectacle Lex had made of wanting to rent a sports car in the Jericho universe. “I’d’ve expected you to drive a Porsche or something,” he’d said. Lex had given him an _I don’t want to talk about it_ look and had muttered something about having been basically depressed for several years and how you make stupid decisions under those circumstances.

Only Lex would consider buying a Honda Civic instead of a Porsche to be a “stupid decision.”

He’d also muttered something about a motorcycle, but Griff definitely considered owning one of those to be a stupid decision, and he was fine with Lex not having one.

“What now?” Lex asked, reacting to Griff’s groan of dismay.

“It’s a twenty hour drive to this flyspeck of a place.”

Lex laughed. “Right. Add making you a valid driver’s license to the list.”

Griff glanced over at the hacker, who was bent down over his computer. “You know they aren’t valid when you forge them.”

He could just see the smile on Lex’s face. “They are when I make them.”

Right. Of course. Now what was he going to do for two days while Lex did his thing? He went back to his phone. Were there any good movies out? Since he’d been first locked in a mental institution for six months and then busy saving another United States from a domestic terror attack with nuclear bombs, it had been a long time since he’d seen a movie in a theater.

***

Lex was as good as his word and finished up his business in a couple of days. He submitted his resignation “effective immediately,” and Griff noticed he didn’t seem bothered to be leaving behind a job he’d said he’d been doing for more than fifteen years. He also gave off _don’t ask me about it_ , and Griff didn’t ask.

He’d asked Griff where he wanted his license to be from, and Griff had given that some thought before asking, “Colby, Kansas?”

Lex had turned away from his computer to give him a questioning look. Griff had shrugged and explained. “Seems there’s no Jericho here, but Colby is in about the same place.”

Lex had smiled and asked, “So you want to keep some connection to Bill and Sarah?”

Griff had responded with, “Why not? They’re still almost half the contacts in your phone, right?”

Lex had put his arms up in a _calm down, man_ way and responded with, “No judging, Griff. It’s a pretty good idea, actually, and I think I’ll do the same. I like the idea.” His voice had softened. “I miss them too.”

Griff had turned away then, not wanting to be obvious about how much he missed them. They were basically half the people he knew too, and he was pretty sure he’d never see them again. It wasn’t like archangel-created portals could be used like elevators.

Lex had given him his new ID, and Griff had admitted it looked good. Lex had set both of them up with new Social Security numbers he’d assured Griff would stand up to any scrutiny. “Depending on what this hunting thing is, I’ll set you up with a credit history, education, everything. Just want to wait on that because it may be that hunting is more a ‘fly under the radar thing.’”

Griff had acknowledged that it made sense, and then had needed to control his reaction when Lex handed over a brand new ID to go along with his FBI badge. “The IDs are a little different here from Bill and Sarah’s universe.” He’d shrugged. “Don’t know if you’ll ever have a use for it, but I thought you might want it.”

Griff had wanted it. The thing that hurt most about leaving his old self behind was giving up his FBI identity. Sure, Dana, Godfrey and the evil gene had pretty much killed that, but he still thought of himself as an agent.

He rubbed gently at the center of his chest where Gabriel’s grace lay. It had apparently cured him of the evil gene so he wasn’t a danger to himself or others. Lex had his own bit of Gabriel’s grace, but it was more potent in the hacker, who hadn’t needed to be cured of weird genetic stuff. In Lex, it made him stronger and faster, but Griff hadn’t noticed anything like that in himself. Other than curing him, it seemed to make him sensitive to the presence of demons, which was something he could have done without.

In addition to quitting his job and making fake IDs for Griff and presumably himself, Lex had done something to make credit cards for the both of them. The hacker had assured him they worked pretty much like the card he’d created in the other universe and that it had effectively an unlimited limit. Apparently, they’d never have to pay a bill. When Griff had asked where the money came from, Lex had just said “terrorists and corrupt governments.” Griff supposed the FBI agent in him should be more bothered by it than he was.

They had eaten out at several places, and Griff had the idea Lex was saying goodbye to favorites because none of them were chains. A steakhouse in DC that looked more like a diner, a pizza place in the suburbs and an actual diner in Arlington.

The food had been good, and Griff hadn’t complained.

Finally, they were ready for the trip to Kansas. Lex had locked up his apartment, saying that the rent would be paid for the next six months, “Just in case this hunting thing doesn’t work out,” and they had left D.C. for the Midwest and a new but uncertain future.


	2. Chapter 2

The drive had been long, but Griff had helped him. They’d gone mostly straight through, with one short stop about halfway to get a few hours sleep in a bed instead of the cramped back seat of his Civic.

They finally bumped over the last part of the route on a gravel road that looked only vaguely maintained but well traveled. As they approached the end of the road, they saw two cars: a black sports car that looked older than Lex and a huge tan land yacht thing. Maybe a Buick?

“Your car is the only one from this century,” Griff remarked from the passenger seat.

“Better be careful,” Lex said. “With our luck, the guy who drives the pimp mobile is madly in love with it or something.”

Griff gave a little shudder. “I hope not. I could see loving the black one, but that tan thing is a gas guzzling abomination.”

Lex maneuvered his Civic to park beside the black one, and they both got out, looking around for where to go. There were stairs leading down to what, yes, looked like a bunker. Lex could now see where they got the name.

As they stood there, looking and feeling lost, the door to the bunker opened, and Sam and Gabriel came out to greet them. Griff had texted them a couple of hours earlier with an ETA, so neither of them looked surprised.

“Welcome,” Sam said with a big grin. Lex hadn’t seen much of him so far, but he thought he’d probably like him. He was easy on the eyes, and he reminded himself that Sam was obviously with Gabriel and therefore off limits.

“Good to see you,” Lex said. “Seems like a nice private place you’ve got here.”

“In other words, why are we living in the middle of fucking nowhere?” Gabriel asked with a grin.

Lex felt heat rise in his face. “Um.”

Gabriel laughed. “I pegged you as a city boy from the beginning, Lex. It’s fine. The inside is nicer than out here, and you’ll be traveling a lot once you start hunting.”

Gabriel was indicating they should go down the stairs, but Sam motioned for them to hold up for a moment. “One thing you need to know before you meet my brother, Dean.” He pointed to the black car. “That’s his Baby. As in he actually calls her that. Don’t ask to drive. Treat it the way you’d treat a girl with a jealous boyfriend, and you’ll be okay.”

Gabriel was nodding. “Even I don’t mess with Dean-o’s car.”

"Now, you mean," Sam said, gently teasing his angel.

“Fine. Now,” Gabriel said with a smile for Sam.

“Good to know,” Griff said. “What about the other one?”

Sam waved dismissively. “It’s Cas’, and he’s not particularly attached to it. Dean keeps offering to steal him a better one, but Cas always tells him not to bother.”

Lex noticed Griff’s little startle at the casual mention of stealing a car, and he resolved to set up a special fund for the hunters. Okay, it was technically still stealing, but at least the good people got paid from money stolen from the bad people. Modern day Robin Hood?

Sam was talking, and Lex forced himself to pay attention. “So you’re in luck. Everyone is here. Dean, Cas and Jack.”

Gabriel added, “Cas is my little bro, and Jack is my nephew.”

Lex struggled to take all that in as they went down the stairs that led from the outside to what looked like a comfortable living area with lots of chairs and a couple of tables. “Cas and Jack are...angels, too?”

“Sort of,” came a voice from below. A tall man, just a bit shorter than Sam, came around from behind a shelf. “I’m Dean,” he said.

So this was Sam’s brother. He was dressed in jeans and plaid flannel, similar to Sam, and was a couple of inches shorter, but still tall. For brothers, they didn’t look much alike.

“Cas is an angel,” Dean continued. “Jack is half angel and half human. A Nephilim.”

Lex felt the foundation of his persistent atheism crumble just a bit more.

Griff was just nodding, though, as if it didn’t surprise him at all. Lex supposed it was that Catholic upbringing he’d had.

Two other men entered from a door across the room. One was almost as tall as Dean, looked a few years older and was dressed in a tan trench coat, slacks, white shirt and a tie that wasn’t lying properly. The second one appeared to be barely out of his teens and was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt.

Sam motioned to them. “Cas and Jack. Guys, these are Lex and Griff, the two Gabriel was telling you about.”

Jack’s eyes widened. “Wow. When you said they looked like Gabriel, you weren’t kidding. Are you really vessels from another universe?”

Lex shrugged. “Uh, I guess so about the vessels. But I’m from this universe. Griff here is the one who’s from somewhere else.”

“You didn’t mention that they carried some of your grace, brother,” said trench-coat guy in a voice that sounded oddly deep and rough. As if he was trying too hard to sound human. And mostly failing. Very different from Gabriel who fit his vessel and seemed human most of the time.

Jack was looking at them more closely now and nodding.

“Right,” Gabriel said. “Good reminder that I need to conceal that.” His gaze unfocused for a moment, and Lex felt _something_ happen. A moment later, he had the feeling that something had gone away. Something he hadn’t even known he’d had until it was gone.

“What was that?” he asked at the same moment Griff asked, “Why can’t I feel Lex anymore?”

Huh? Lex whirled to look at Griff. “What?”

Griff frowned at him. “That little bit of grace you have. I’ve always been able to sense it. Couldn’t you feel mine?”

Now that Griff mentioned it, Lex realized he had always had a sense of where Griff was, without being consciously aware of it. “Uh. I guess.”

“What are you talking about?” Dean asked.

“Lex and Griff both have a small amount of Gabriel’s grace in them,” Cas said, as if it should be the most obvious thing in the world.

“Which reminded me that I should conceal it since I don’t want every angel, demon or monster that can see grace to know about it,” Gabriel added as he concentrated again. “There. Now you two can sense each other, but no one will be able to.”

A moment later, Lex could feel the grace within Griff again. Griff was nodding, so Lex assumed he could feel it as well.

“Why do they have your grace?” Dean was asking.

“It was the only way I could help them since I wasn’t able to aid them directly,” Gabriel explained. “Bill had some too.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t have it anymore,” Griff said.

“What happened to it?” Gabriel asked.

“Guys,” Sam said. “Maybe we could all sit down rather than doing this in the entryway?”

Dean was nodding. “Yeah, come on back. I was getting ready to fix burgers.”

Sam leaned over and whispered to Lex, “You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted one of Dean’s burgers.”

Griff had been complaining for the last 50 or miles that he was hungry, so he was already following Dean. Lex followed a bit more slowly. He appreciated that Sam was trying to make him feel welcome, but he was finding five new people, who already had a long history together, a bit overwhelming. It was like joining the Art Department at the CIA all over again, and he’d been twenty-five when he did that, not just past forty.

Griff was sitting at a large table, and he motioned Lex to sit beside him, which he did.

“So what happened to Bill’s grace?” Gabriel was asking.

“He used it to blast a demon,” Griff explained. “Blew it all out.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “That was good thinking.”

Griff nodded. “Bill’s a good guy. You’d like him.”

Dean served everyone burgers. Lex kept an eye on Griff, who ate two. He was happy to see that. Griff’s health seemed to fluctuate, even with the grace, and Lex tried to make sure he at least ate.

As plates were being gathered, Lex asked, “So fill me and Griff in on this archangel Michael thing.” He couldn’t quite believe he was asking that, and he noticed Griff giving him a wry grin.

Everyone turned to Gabriel, who sighed and explained about Apocalypse World and Michael’s plans to invade this universe. Also that there was an AU version of Cas who was trying to block Michael’s plans and delay things so Gabriel could recover his powers. Lex noticed Gabriel went into basically no details about how he’d lost his powers in the first place.

Dean continued when Gabriel wound down. “So, we had a two-stage plan. First was training Jack and allowing Gabe to recover while Castiel and his angels put roadblocks in Michael’s way. We’re almost through that phase.” He glanced at Gabriel and got a nod in return.

“I’m not going to be at full power for some time, but I think I’m getting close to recovered enough to make this work. In a couple of weeks at the most, I should be able to fly if I’m careful, and I’ve taught Jack almost as much as I can.”

“So your timing is good,” Sam said. “We can run you through a crash course in hunting. From what Gabriel’s told us, you should pick it up quickly. Then we can move to Phase Two.”

“Which is? Griff asked.

Gabriel answered. “Sending Dean, Cas and Jack to Apocalypse World to deal with Michael’s angels and his own Nephilim--yes he has one too--while Sam and I go recruit my brother to help us.”

“Which brother?” Griff asked. His tone was mild, but Lex knew him well enough now to sense that the question wasn’t mild at all.

“Lucifer,” Gabriel said.

“No,” Griff said, his tone firm.

“Why not?” Lex asked.

Griff turned to him, amber eyes flashing. “Because Lucifer is the Devil. We just spent a lot of time fighting demons, Lex. Now you want to go along with a plan to ally with the King of Demons?”

“Actually, in our universe, Lucifer isn’t the King of Demons,” Dean started to say, his tone joking, but he trailed off when Griff transferred his gaze to him.

“This is the baddest of bad ideas,” Griff insisted.

“I know it is, Griff,” Gabriel said. “If we had a good idea, we’d be going with it. But all we have now are bad ideas. This one has the best chance of working. No guarantees, but I can assure you the other ones are worse.”

“What are the other ones?” Griff asked.

Gabriel held up his hand, one finger raised. “Sending Jack against Michael. My nephew is strong. Maybe even as strong or stronger than Michael, but he’s inexperienced.”

Lex noticed Jack shifting in his seat, but he didn’t say anything.

“Also, he and I have been working on something that might make things easier, but it requires him to be over there.” Gabriel stared down Griff. “And no, I’m not telling anyone that part of the plan yet. We’re still polishing it.”

Griff backed down, a bit.

Gabriel raised another finger. “Me fighting Michael by myself.” He shook his head. “Definitely not going to work. Michael is the eldest and strongest of us. I’m the youngest and weakest.”

Now Lex noticed Sam shifting in his seat, but he also remained silent. Sam didn’t like his boyfriend talking down about himself?

“I know I can’t take Michael by myself. Which means we need another archangel. The Michael in this world is, for our purposes, as good as dead. Raphael _is_ dead. Which leaves only my last brother, Lucifer.”

“But he’s the Devil,” Griff said, leaning forward, almost in the archangel’s face, obviously unable to keep silent any longer. “Father of Lies. Pretty much the definition of untrustworthy.”

“And that is my brother you’re talking about,” Gabriel said, a cold, silvery blue light flashing in his normally amber eyes. “I think if anyone knows what he’s like, it would be me.”

Griff’s shoulders relaxed, and he sat back in his chair. “All right. I apologize. I, of all people, do know about difficult brothers. I assume you have a plan for keeping him on track and not making things worse.”

Gabriel took a deep breath, and Sam put a hand on the angel’s shoulder. “I have some ideas, yes. Can I guarantee they will work? No? Will I be keeping my eye on my brother the entire time? Of course. I admit I don’t have the greatest track record when fighting my brothers, but I do hope I’ve learned from my mistakes in the past.”

“We’ll make it work,” Sam said. “We always do.”

Lex noticed Dean nodding along with his brother’s words. Even Cas’ expression looked to be in support of his brother.

Griff met the eyes of everyone at the table in turn before he nodded. “All right. I don’t like it, but I’m new to this fight, so I’ll go along with those who know more than I do. But I want to be where I can watch him too.”

Gabriel inclined his head in acknowledgement. “I think that can be arranged.”

“So where do we fit in?” Lex asked, hoping to change the subject slightly.

Sam answered this one. “Gabriel and I have discussed this some. We were thinking to give you a crash course in how to fight angels. Teach you some lore. Hopefully find a hunt to send you on to practice. There are other hunters around. We were planning to organize them for some specific tasks. Maybe hook you up with them?”

Cas spoke up. “It might be good to have one or both of them with us when we go to the other world to deal with the Michael’s forces and the Nephilim.”

Sam nodded. “And that could work too. They’d probably work fairly well with Mom.”

“Your mom is over there?” Lex asked.

Dean nodded, his expression making it plain he wasn’t happy about it. “Yeah. Along with Ketch, who is another person from our universe.”

“Let’s not throw the entire Winchester-by-blood and by-adoption family tree at them right away,” Gabriel said. “They’ve had a long drive. Maybe let them get some sleep before we start quizzing them on names?”

Sam smiled and got up. “Sounds like a plan. Griff, Lex? How about if I help you get your stuff from the car and show you where you can bunk?”

Lex could see a deflection when it was right in front of him, but something told him this wasn’t the time. So he got up and said, “Yeah, sure. Come on, Griff. Let’s get unpacked.”

***

Sam walked them out to their car, and Lex took the opportunity to ask, “So, you and Gabriel?”

Sam seemed to understand because he said, “Yes. He and I are bonded.”

“What’s that mean?” Griff said as he grabbed their two backpacks and Lex’s roller bag from the trunk.

“Kind of hard to explain,” Sam said. “Basically, my soul and his grace are joined. We can talk telepathically, know each other’s emotions. Stuff like that. I get some strength and resilience.” He smiled. “And one hell of good person to hang out with.”

Lex could see the expression of fondness on Sam’s face, and he wished he could have something like that. Probably wasn’t going to happen, though. Hunting didn’t seem like the kind of life where you fell in love and got involved, unless it was with an angel. No chance an angel would be interested in someone like him.

Griff was shaking his head. “No idea what you were getting me into, Lex, when I agreed to leave that institution.”

Lex took his backpack and clapped Griff on the shoulder. “Oh, this is better, and you know it.”

Griff shrugged. “Except for the likelihood of encountering more demons, you’re probably right.”

Sam took the roller bag, lifting it as if it weighed nothing. “Demons aren’t so bad when you have the right weapons for them. That’s one of the things Gabe and I are going to work on tomorrow with you.”

Griff suddenly yawned, and said, “Yeah. Tomorrow is right. Got someplace we can crash?”

Sam led them back inside and down a long hallway with doors on each side. “This place used to be occupied by lots more than just the five, now seven, of us. So there are plenty of empty bedrooms.” He gave them a careful look. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but do you want separate rooms or do you want to bunk together?”

Lex knew the question he was really asking. “No, we’re not together like that. So, separate, but next to each other, please.” Lex knew it would be easier on Griff if they were close by. Sometimes he slept better with another person at his back. If Lex were being honest with himself, sometimes he did too.

Sam nodded and stopped by a door. “Then why don’t you take these two?” indicating the one he’d stopped by and the one to the right of it. “Neither Gabe nor Cas sleep the entire night, and you’re far enough away from them that they won’t bother you if they move around.”

“Angels sleep?” Griff asked as Sam opened the first door to reveal a small room with a double bed, a dresser, a chair and a small sink. Griff walked in and dropped his backpack on the bed.

“Gabriel does a little. I’ll let him fill you in on what happened to him, but I can tell you that it’s been a lengthy recovery. He used to need to sleep all night. Now he sleeps an hour or two out of habit and to keep me company until I’m asleep.” He grinned. “Being bonded to an angel gives me some advantages, but I still need to sleep.”

Lex had been listening while he opened the door to his room to toss in his backpack and take the roller bag from Sam. “What about Dean and Cas? Are they bonded?”

Sam started laughing. “Oh, that’s a question with a short answer that doesn’t begin to cover it. The short answer is no, but obviously you’ve picked up on the body language between them.”

Lex shrugged. “Observation is what I do.”

Sam nodded. “That will be good when you’re hunting. To answer the question a bit more completely, they used to be together, aren’t now, and we all wish they’d just get back together because neither of them are happy with the current situation. But they are also both stubborn.”

Lex got that. It sounded a lot like his former co-workers, Stiles and Terri. They hadn’t gotten together, exactly, before they had died, but they weren’t ever not together either.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to get settled,” Sam said. “Morning is a pretty informal affair around here unless we’re getting ready for a hunt. Dean usually cooks, and then we’ll get you started on your crash course.”

Lex and Griff both said goodnight, and Sam went down the hallway and entered what Lex assumed was his room. Which he shared with Gabriel? Not that it was any of his business.

“You going to be okay tonight, Griff? Or do you want to bunk with me?”

Griff yawned. “Think I’m tired enough to sleep through, but thanks.”

Lex nodded and started for his room. “Okay. You know where to find me, though.”

“Yeah, thanks. See you in the morning.”

“You too.” Lex went into his room and closed the door, but left it open a crack, just in case Griff changed his mind. He thought about unpacking his stuff but decided it could wait until morning. He brushed his teeth, stripped down to boxers and a tee and lay down. The bed was comfortable enough. So far, it was different from what he was used to, but the people seemed decent. He was eager to learn more about hunting and closed his eyes, wanting to be rested for the morning.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Griff was pleased that he had managed to sleep the night through. That didn’t always happen these days. Maybe Gabriel’s grace was healing him more?

He checked on Lex, but his room was empty, and Griff headed for the kitchen, figuring that was where everyone would be. He was right. Sam and Gabriel were sitting at the table, eating what looked like egg sandwiches. Lex was standing by Dean and appeared to be watching how they were made. Really? An egg sandwich was an egg sandwich, right?

Cas and Jack weren’t there, and Griff wondered if it was because they didn’t need to eat? No, that couldn’t be right. Gabriel was eating. He gave an internal head shake. His Catholic upbringing hadn’t covered angels dressed in jeans or trench coats and “bonding” humans and hanging out in kitchens.

Sam looked up and motioned him in with a friendly wave and a smile. “Griff. Good morning. Come on in and have one of Dean’s egg sandwiches.”

Gabriel nodded. “They are good.”

“Even Death approved of them,” Dean commented as he slid a sandwich onto a plate and held it out to Griff, who approached with some caution. Death? As in the Horseman?

He took the plate, sat down across from Gabriel and took a cautious bite. Quickly followed by another. And another. Before he knew it, he’d finished the sandwich.

Lex laughed and sat down beside him, sliding the sandwich from his plate onto Griff’s. “Yeah, that was my reaction. Now you know how much I love you, man.”

“Don’t let him fool you,” Dean said. “He’s had two already. He’s just catching you up.”

Griff ate his second one, forcing himself to consume it more slowly, to actually appreciate it. Between good food and good sleep, he was starting to think this new life might suit him.

“So what’s the plan for the day?” Lex was asking as Dean gave him another sandwich.

“Start with weapons,” Gabriel said. He raised his arm, and a silvery blade slid out into his hand. Griff blinked. He hadn’t noticed a sheath under the angel’s sleeve. “All angels can manifest their blades, and angel blades are effective against most supernatural creatures, especially demons. When an angel is killed, the blade stays behind, and we have a few of them around for you humans to use.”

Griff leaned forward, trying to get a closer look at the blade Gabriel held. It was short, more of a long knife than a sword, and the blade looked to be forged from a mingling of some sort of silver and gold metal.

“That’s an archangel blade,” Sam said. “We only have the one. Regular angel blades are just silver.”

“And we think Jack will make a different blade as well, once he masters summoning it,” Gabriel added. He surprised Griff by handing over the blade. From the raised eyebrows from Sam, the tall hunter hadn’t been expecting it, either. Griff took the blade and held it for a moment. It almost seemed to hum in his hand, and he felt the grace in his chest reaching for it. The blade was light and well balanced.

“It seems to accept you, Griff,” Gabriel said.

Griff turned it, examining the twisting of gold and silver. “Is that unusual?”

“Well, you aren’t an archangel. I mean, anyone could wield it, just like they could an angel blade, but it seems to particularly suit you.”

Griff liked the resonance he felt from the blade, and he handed it back with some reluctance. Gabriel shook his head. “Give it to Lex.”

Griff did so. Lex held it awkwardly, clearly not used to bladed weapons. He shook his head. “Not sure what I’m supposed to be noticing, but it just feels like a blade to me.”

Gabriel was shaking his head. “Nope. It’s not accepting you in the same way it is with Griff.” He frowned. “I assumed it was my grace in Griff that was causing that. Now I’m not sure.” He held out his hand, and Lex handed the blade back.

Griff could tell the blade was happy to be back with its true master, although he couldn’t have said how he knew that.

“Are you both finished?” Gabriel asked. “If so, we can go start training.”

“With that?” Lex asked, sounding nervous.

Gabriel laughed. “No.” His blade vanished up his sleeve, and he snapped his fingers. A wooden blade, a little longer than his archangel blade, appeared in his hand. “Angel blades are a little larger that mine. This is a good approximation. We’ll practice with these until you get the hang of it.”

Griff smiled to himself, suspecting he was going to have a chance to surprise the angel.

Gabriel led them to another part of the Bunker, to a large room which was obviously intended to be a weapons practice room. There was a firing range, which was just open and looked unsafe. There was also what he thought was a fencing strip. He’d seen the sport on the Olympics once.

Gabriel motioned them in. “This is the Danger Room.”

Lex grinned. “You read comics?”

Gabriel grinned back. “Of course.”

“DC or Marvel?”

“Marvel, my boy,” Gabriel said. “Is that even a real choice?”

“Not really,” Lex said. “But I had to check.”

Gabriel clapped the hacker on the shoulder. “You are officially allowed to stay.” He turned to Griff. “I saw you eyeing the firing range. Not to worry. It’s warded, and bullets can’t stray.”

“Warded?” Griff asked. “Like magic?”

Sam walked to the range and pulled a pistol out from his waistband. Griff managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes. That was one of the stupidest places to put a gun.

Gabriel snapped his fingers, and a target appeared at the end of the range. Barely appearing to aim, Sam fired six shots. Griff was impressed by the shot grouping. The tall man was good. Then Sam did something that had Griff almost running for cover. He turned to the side and fired at a perpendicular angle from the target, right into the center of the room. The bullet hit something invisible and...fizzled.

“Huh?” Lex asked. Griff noticed he had most of his weight balanced on one foot, as if he was about to flee.

“Magic,” Gabriel said with a waggle of his eyebrows. “Or, more properly, angel powers.”

“Bullets can’t leave the range area,” Sam said. “We’ve tested it thoroughly.”

That might be, but Griff still didn’t like it.

“But gun stuff is for later,” Gabriel said. “Blades now.” He indicated the fencing strip. “Later, when we have more time, I’ll teach you to fence. It’s good for learning balance and precision. But for now, Sam and I will show you some basic knife moves and drill you in those until they are second nature. Fighting with angel blades is more like knife fighting than sword fighting.” He pointed to the wall where protective gear hung. “Fencing gear is good for this, though, so we’ll use it. Gear up.” He smiled. “Since you’re both my size, my gear should fit you well.”

There were two sets of fencing jackets, which, yes, did fit Lex and Griff well. Sam put on a jacket as well. Gabriel did not.

Lex eyed him. “You’re not wearing any?”

The archangel laughed. “There’s not a chance you can hurt me with a wooden blade, Lex.”

As soon as Lex and Griff were equipped, Sam demonstrated a move. “Angel blades will hurt an angel, no matter where you hit them. But to take one down, you need to thrust up in the chest area, roughly where the heart is on a human.” He turned and thrust the wooden blade at Gabriel’s chest, stopping just below the angel’s sternum. “Like that.”

Gabriel snapped his fingers and another wooden blade appeared in his hand. Griff wondered how he did that. Was he creating them out of nothing or teleporting them from somewhere?

Sam and Gabriel demonstrated a few passes, with Sam attempting to get past Gabriel’s guard. They were moving at about half speed so Lex and Griff could see the exact sequence of moves.

“So that’s what we want you to practice,” Sam said after they’d done it a few times. “Lex, you work with me. Griff, you work with Gabriel.”

Griff walked over to Gabriel, who tossed him a blade. Griff caught it neatly, and, as part of the same motion, attacked the angel. He feinted left, and, as Gabriel parried, he switched direction and smoothly attacked, stopping with his blade just pressing below Gabriel’s rib cage, in exactly the right angle to thrust up into his heart.

Gabriel was grinning. “Very nice move, Griff. You’ve learned knife fighting?”

Griff straightened up. “Yes. Hand to hand as well. But I was particularly good with a knife.”

Sam was grinning, and Lex’s mouth was partially open. “Right,” Sam said. “Gabriel can work with you on more advanced moves.” He looked at Lex. “Don’t worry. I’ll have you able to defend yourself soon enough, and I understand you have some computer skills that I need to see.”

Everyone settled into practice, with Sam drilling Lex while Gabriel and Griff did more free form sparring.

Griff enjoyed the practice. Gabriel was a skilled opponent and was a joy to spar against. Griff trusted him to pull his attacks if needed, and he knew he couldn’t hurt an archangel, so both of them were willing to go just about all out. Gabriel had some moves Griff hadn’t seen before, and he tried them back on the angel, to good effect.

“Nice one,” Gabriel said after one particularly hard fought touch. Griff had finally managed to get in position to deliver a killing blow. Most of the time Griff had managed to hit Gabriel, the angel had been in position to kill him in return, but that time, Griff had managed to maneuver him into being off balance, and it would have been a clean kill.

Sam and Lex had stopped practicing several minutes earlier, and Sam had been pointing out various moves and why they worked.

By mutual, unspoken, agreement, Griff and Gabriel slowed down their next pass to half speed, so Lex could see exactly what they were doing. Griff had practiced at half speed before, and it didn’t affect his fighting, but Gabriel pulled out yet another new move, and he “killed” Griff that time.

“See how Gabriel got in past Griff’s guard that time?” Sam was asking Lex.

The hacker nodded. “I did see that. I don’t think I’ll be able to duplicate that move, though.”

“It’s fine, Lex,” Gabriel said. “We don’t expect you to be at that level immediately. I really want you to be able to defend yourself if an angel attacks you. Which is why tomorrow Sam will drill you on defense.”

“If you wanted me to be able to defend myself, then why did you start with teaching me to attack?”

“We needed to see if you could,” Sam answered. “Bladed combat is difficult for some people. Sometimes, you just can’t get past the instinctive reluctance to attack someone human or human looking.”

Griff nodded. “I was watching you out of the corner of my eye, Lex. You did fine. I think you’ll be pretty good at it. You’re quick and precise in your movements. That’s a good place to start from.”

Gabriel tapped Griff lightly on his head. “Yes, I noticed when you were watching him. Got two good touches on you.”

Griff shrugged. “Fair point. And I will note that I got you back three out of four right after that.”

Gabriel surprised him by pulling him into a one-armed hug. “I know. Well done. Tomorrow, Dean wants to test you out on weapons, but I’m thinking you’ll do fine there.”

Sam was nodding. “If you were even halfway decent as an FBI agent, your weapon skills should be good. Might have to jump you to studying lore.”

Griff frowned. “Studying lore” sounded entirely too much like wading through the documents he had to analyze for RICO cases.

Sam laughed. “We’ll make sure you get plenty of weapons practice in. Can’t have you getting bored.”

“And I’ll teach you fencing,” Gabriel said, arm still around Griff’s waist. “You’ll enjoy that, and with three weapons to learn, all slightly different, we’ll keep you busy.”

Griff realized he had two unfamiliar feelings welling up inside him. Happiness and belonging. It had been a long time since he had felt either of those.

***

Sam took Lex and Griff to the library while Gabriel wandered off to do something. “He pretty much knows all the lore,” Sam said. “So he gets bored easily.”

“What’s he doing?” Lex asked, still curious to learn more about Gabriel.

Sam’s gaze grew unfocused for a moment before his eyes snapped back, and he smiled. “Looks like he’s sitting down to binge Arrow. He missed most of the CW shows, and he kept talking about catching up on them.”

“He watches TV?” Lex asked, not able to keep the surprise out of his voice.

Sam shrugged. “Sure. He reads tabloids too. He’s interested in pretty much everything about humanity. And he doesn’t sleep much, so he has plenty of time on his hands.”

That was the second time Sam had alluded to something having taken Gabriel out of commission, and he wanted to ask, but he sensed he was going to have to get the story out of Gabriel. He remembered that when Gabriel had recruited him to go gallivanting across universes, he’d indicated he’d had a bad couple of years. He wondered if there would ever be a good time to ask him about that.

As they entered the library, Lex gaped. There were books and stuff everywhere. He saw some signs of organization, but he still wondered how anyone found anything in the packed room.

He noticed Griff was also looking around. “How much stuff is in here?”

Sam shook his head. “We’ve tried to catalog it, but something always comes up. Too bad we can’t bring a librarian down here.”

He pointed to a laptop lying open on a nearby table. “Most of the time, we use online resources to do research. We only crack the books when things get really esoteric. Gabriel said you are a pretty good hacker, Lex.”

Lex eyed the laptop and tried to hide his distaste. “Give me a minute,” he said. “Let me go get my laptop.”

As he left the room, he heard Griff tell Sam, “He’s kind of particular about his tech.”

Lex smiled. Griff wasn’t wrong.

On his way back to his room, he passed Gabriel going the other way. The angel stopped him. “I’m sensing you want to hear what happened to me the last few years.”

Lex frowned. “Are you reading my mind?”

“Nope. Sam’s just really observant, and he’s noticed your expression a couple of times. He passed on the observation.”

“I hope you’re not seeing it as an intrusion, but yes, I am curious.”

Gabriel gave a little shrug. “Everyone in the Bunker knows my story. You and Griff might as well too. It will give you some context for the larger fight we’re in. Tonight, after dinner, I’ll fill the two of you in.”

Lex could tell the offer wasn’t made lightly, and he nodded. “Thank you.”

Gabriel smiled at him. “Now go get your laptop and show my mate what you can do with a computer.”

“Your mate?” Lex asked.

“Sam. Our bond makes him my mate.” The information was delivered completely matter of fact, as if the idea of angels and humans being mated was no big deal.

Lex wasn’t sure what to make of that, but he hurried to get his laptop. He’d worry about it later.

By the time he’d arrived back at the library, Sam and Griff were bent over a book. Griff looked up. “Sam says he think I can learn Enochian pretty easily. Since I already know a lot of Latin, I should be good at rituals.”

“What’s Enochian?” Lex asked as he sat down and opened his laptop.

“The angelic language,” Sam said. “It’s used for a lot of rituals. I know Latin fairly well, and Gabriel has taught me some Enochian, but it’s a difficult language for humans to learn. Griff, however, started picking up the basics right away, which is unusual.”

Sam left Griff studying Enochian to walk over and sit down beside Lex. Angel language? He supposed it made sense, but he’d never thought about it. He wondered if he could write a translation program?

He put that idea aside and looked at Sam. “So, you say you do lore research online?”

Sam nodded and showed him some databases and search engines he hadn’t known existed. Lex was a little annoyed with himself for not having discovered them, but then he did have to allow that he’d never had a clue the supernatural existed so why would he have started looking for them?

Using his own laptop, Sam pulled up the pages of some of the more common monsters: vampires, werewolves, ghosts of various kinds and others. Lex bookmarked them on his own computer to look at more closely later. Then Sam showed him how they browsed various newspapers looking for hunts.

Lex started smiling.

“What?” Sam asked.

“You just browse the publications, scrolling through until you see something that looks weird or unnatural?”

“Pretty much?” Sam said.

Lex was aware of Griff watching them from his table. The ex-agent had a slight smile playing around his lips.

Lex stretched his fingers and cracked his knuckles. “How’d you like a bot doing the looking for you?”

Sam’s eyes widened. “I’d never thought about that, but it’s a really good idea.”

“This is what happens when you bring a hacker into this,” Griff commented. Lex could hear the pride in his voice, and Lex felt something warm deep inside him.

“I’ll need to study the lore for a bit to give the bot the right parameters, but after that, it’s basic programming. I have a couple of existing programs I can modify. Shouldn’t be very hard.”

Sam was shaking his head. “That would be a big help. We spend a lot of time finding hunts. If that were streamlined, we could help more people.”

Lex grinned and bent over his computer. He’d not yet found a job a bit of hacking couldn’t improve. Apparently hunting monsters was no exception.


	4. Chapter 4

Cas and Jack were all back for dinner. Apparently they had been on a short hunt, which had ended well. Jack went on for some time about how he’d found the right person who had died and become a ghost and how he’d discovered the hidden body and salted and burned the bones.

Lex wasn’t quite sure what to think about all of that. He realized he’d thought hunting might be a lot like his work at the CIA with tracking down leads and stopping the bad guys. Maybe with the addition of the things he’d done in Bill and Sarah’s universe, like using salt and holy water. But his review of the lore today and listening to Jack talk made him realize this was in some ways more complicated and certainly more dangerous. He still thought he wanted to learn, though.

One thing he was certain of. This life was going to be good for Griff. The ex-agent had taken to studying lore like he had been born to it. And Lex hadn’t had any idea he was so good at fighting. If they’d had one of those angel blades, the demons they’d faced would have gone down so much faster.

Once dinner was finished--Lex was thinking he’d get spoiled quickly by Dean’s cooking--Gabriel motioned to Lex and Griff. “Come on, you two. Let’s go to the library, and I’ll fill you in on some of the things you don’t know yet.”

Lex didn’t miss the concerned look Sam gave Gabriel. “Want me to tag along?” the tall hunter asked.

Gabriel shook his head. “It’s fine. I’ve got this.”

Sam nodded and reached out one long arm. Gabriel walked over for a quick forehead kiss, which Lex thought was sweet.

He also had the impression Sam would be listening in or whatever he did to keep track of his “mate?” Lex still wasn’t sure what to make of that. Not “husband” or “spouse” or any of the other words he might have expected. “Mate” made it sound exotic and different.

Lex and Griff followed Gabriel to the library and found their seats. Gabriel sat near them and snapped his fingers. Steaming mugs appeared on the tables by their respective chairs. Lex lifted his and took a cautious sniff. Hot chocolate with...something else in it. He took a taste. Was that brandy?

Gabriel chuckled at his expression. “Just a bit of something to spice it up. Enough to taste. Not enough to dull your thinking, I promise.”

Griff was tasting his and looked pleased. “How do you do that? Are you creating something out of nothing or...I don’t know? Teleporting it in from somewhere?”

“Depends,” Gabriel said as he snapped himself up another steaming mug. He motioned to the mug. “That I created. Same with the wooden blades this morning. Sometimes, though, I do teleport things in” He shrugged. “Depends on my mood and whether the thing I want already exists.” He took a sip of his own mug before adding, “It wasn’t that long ago that I didn’t have the power to summon things. Sam is always after me to save my grace and he frowns at me if I’m too extravagant with it.” His expression was fond as he spoke of his mate. “But I think it’s like hacking to you, Lex. If you couldn’t hack for a while and then suddenly could again, you’d probably take every opportunity, right?”

Lex nodded. “Pretty much.” He paused and then added. “I mean. I guess so. That hasn’t really happened to me much yet.”

Gabriel nodded. “So, Lex, you noticed Sam and my hints that something happened to me to cause me to be low on juice for a while, and you want to know what.”

“If you’re willing to share,” Lex said, sensing this wasn’t going to be easy for the angel.

Gabriel shrugged. “It’s not really something I like to think about, but, as I said earlier, you two have reason to know since everyone else does. Also, my story impacts this thing we’ve dragged you in to. You deserve to know the whole thing before you decide to be all in.”

“I don’t want to speak for Lex, but I think I’m already all in,” Griff said. “In one day, you guys have given me something I haven’t had in a long time.”

“What’s that?” Gabriel asked.

“Someplace to belong,” Griff said simply.

Lex knew what he was saying. He thought maybe he could have that here as well, but he also knew something was still missing. He just didn’t know what it was yet. He hoped he’d find it soon.

“We’re good at taking in people who don’t fit anywhere else,” Gabriel said. “So I hope we can be that for you.” He smiled. “Sam took me in when he had good reasons not to. I’m always going to be grateful to him for that.”

Gabriel launched into the story of how he’d met the Winchesters and their early interactions. The Trickster side of Gabriel was familiar to him. It was how he’d met him years earlier. But it was new to Griff, and he could see the other man working to slot that image of Gabriel in with his archangel persona.

The angel quickly told the story of the Apocalypse and how he’d first tried to get Sam and Dean to “play their roles” but later ended up helping them and faking his death at the hand of his brother.

When Gabriel spoke of Lucifer and his treachery, Lex saw Griff sit up straighter and start to speak, but the archangel stopped him. “I know what you’re thinking, Griff, and I don’t disagree with you. Yes, my brother can be treacherous. I’m telling you this story in part to assure you that my eyes are open about my brother. I have no intention of letting him get the drop on me like that again.”

He then went on to tell them how he had been captured by a Prince of Hell, Asmodeus, and tortured for long years. Lex knew they hadn’t gotten the entire story there, but he respected Gabriel’s desire to keep some things back if he wanted. He just hoped he hadn’t held anything back that they’d wish later they’d known.

He finished by talking about how someone named Ketch had rescued him from the Prince and brought him to the Winchesters, where apparently he and Sam had fallen in love and bonded, along with killing Asmodeus. Gabriel hadn’t directly mentioned anything about love, but Lex could see it from how he talked about Sam.

“Asmodeus drained my grace for seven years, injecting it into himself to make himself more powerful. It’s taken me months to recover some of my power. I’m not at full power or even that close to it, but we can’t wait much longer, which is why we’re about to start Phase Two of the plan. I’d rather be in better shape, but--” He shrugged. “We can’t wait forever. The guys on the other side of the portal can’t wait forever. The last we heard, Michael was getting close to launching an attack over here.”

“So you being still low on power is why you want to do a deal with your brother?” Griff asked.

“Among other reasons, but that’s the big one, yes.”

“And there aren’t any other options?” Griff said, pressing.

Gabriel’s eyes flashed briefly silver blue, but Griff didn’t back down, meeting Gabriel’s eyes until the archangel lowered his gaze.

Okay, that was unexpected. Lex didn’t think angels generally backed down when challenged by humans. Not that he knew much about angels, but he had a hard time believing any being that could do the things Gabriel could do backed down easily.

Gabriel sighed. “There’s one more thing you should know, I guess. I wasn’t going to tell you because it’s not really any of your business, but since you’re obviously not going to let this go…” He took another drink from his mug. “You know a little bit about vessels since you both are mine. What you don’t know is that Sam is Lucifer’s chosen vessel.”

Lex’s eyes widened. “Don’t take this the wrong way because I like Sam and don’t want him being possessed by the Devil, but why isn’t Lucifer...err...in him?” And wow wasn’t that an awkward way to put it?

“Because being occupied by an angel isn’t like being possessed by a demon. A demon can take who it wants. An angel needs consent.”

“And Sam hasn’t consented?” Griff asked.

Gabriel raised his hand and made a yes/no gesture. “Not exactly. Remember that Apocalypse I talked about earlier? They ended that by Sam saying ‘yes’ to my brother and then tricking him into falling into the Cage in Hell.” He held up a hand. “Don’t ask me to explain that more. We’d be here until next week if I had to give you the blow by blow about Sam, Dean and their various choices, good and bad. To make a very long story short, my baby bro, Cas, dragged Sam out of Hell, leaving Lucifer behind. A few years later, Lucifer basically tricked his way out of the Cage, and he’s gone through a couple of vessels since he’s been out. Yes, he still wants Sam, but he hasn’t got him yet. That’s one of the things that makes me willing to try this. An angel is never as strong as we could be when we’re not in our ideal vessel. Luci is in a pretty good one, but he’d be infinitely more powerful in Sam.”

“And you think you can...what? Use that weakness against him somehow?” Lex asked.

Gabriel nodded. “Right in one.” He smiled. “You are a smart one.”

Lex found himself surprised by the sudden warmth that went through him at that.

“I can’t go into the whole plan right now, mostly because I haven’t shared it all with Sam yet, but know that I’m not going to take any chances with him that I don’t have to. I’m not going to have my brother get my mate. Not while I’m still alive.”

Blue sparks crackled over his body when he said that, and Lex believed him. He glanced over to Griff, who had been the more outspoken one about the plan involving Lucifer.

Griff still didn’t look happy about it, but he was nodding. “I can see that. Thank you for the information and additional perspective. When you can share the plan. I’d like to hear it.”

“When I can,” Gabriel said. He stood up. “And that’s all the storytelling you’re getting from me tonight, kiddos.” He winked at them. “Gotta keep my mate happy.”

He walked out, and Lex rolled his eyes when he was gone. “Not sure I needed to know that last part.”

Griff laughed. “Yeah, me either.” He shrugged. “But he does seem like a character, so I guess we need to expect that sort of thing.” His expression sobered. “What do you think about the whole story and plan thing?”

Lex frowned and thought about it for a moment. “Honestly not sure. This is all beyond my experience. I’m pretty comfortable setting up bots to find potential hunts and doing research. This whole angel battle thing? Still adjusting to it.”

Griff nodded. “Same.” He stood up and picked up his mug. “Think I’m going to head back to the library to look at some more lore. It’s more interesting than I’d thought it would be.”

Lex stood up to follow him. “I think I’ll go to and work some more on the bot.”

Right now he was all about sticking to the familiar. Maybe the stuff that was weird now would be familiar later, but he thought it might take a while.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day at breakfast, Sam said, “We need to get you two anti-possession tattoos.”

Griff looked up from his eggs. He definitely could get used to how they ate at the bunker. He'd lost a lot of weight in the hospital, and he thought he might be able to gain it back. Dean had mentioned a weight room. Maybe he'd get himself back in shape.

But right now he was more interested in this tattoo thing. “What's that?”

Lex was actually looking up from his computer, eggs and bacon untouched beside him, although if Griff had counted correctly, he was on his third cup of coffee. How was he not dangerously thin?

Sam pulled down the neck of his shirt to reveal a round tattoo in an intricate design. “This. It prevents demons from possessing you. Good idea to get you one before you start doing any hunting. Not that I expect to go up against a demon right away, but it's better to be prepared.”

Gabriel walked in at that moment, a huge yawn and a bad case of bedhead making it obvious he had just gotten out of bed. “They don't need them, Sammich. My grace protects them from possession. Won't necessarily stop other things, like djinn poison…”

Sam frowned at that, and Griff suspected there was a story there.

“...but it's proof against demonic possession.”

Griff had a sudden thought, and from the sudden intake of breath from Lex, he thought his partner had the same one.

Which was proven when Lex said, “Bill and Sarah. Bill blew out his grace killing that demon, and Sarah never had any grace. There's still demons in their world.”

A chill passed through Griff at the thought of either of them being possessed.

Gabriel nodded. “But they aren't hunting like you two. From what you've told me, demons will stay far away from Jericho. Bill seem like the traveling type?”

Griff laughed. “Far from it. Sarah's the traveler, but I think if Bill had his way, he'd never leave Jericho.”

“There. Should be okay,” Gabriel said. “Plus I'd get a premonition again if he were in danger of being possessed. Everything is quiet on my alternate vessel front. Hopefully it will stay that way.”

Griff wasn't entirely satisfied by that. Bill and Sarah had become like siblings to him, and he hated to think about either or both of them being possessed. But he had to trust Gabriel. Surely an angel knew more about this than he did.

He glanced over at Lex who hadn't gone back to his computer. Their eyes met, and Griff knew his partner wasn't happy about it either. But what could they do? They were here and Bill and Sarah were over there. He doubted Gabriel would be willing to open a portal just to let the Koehler know to get tattoos.

Maybe something would change later, and he and Lex could find a reason to ask for a portal to be opened.

***

Two days later, Lex was starting to get the hang of basic angel blade moves, Griff had been cleared as “more than acceptable” on firearms by Dean, and Lex’s bot produced its first potential hunt.

Griff was reading lore on the archangels and liking Lucifer even less every minute when Lex said, “Huh. I wonder if this is a hunt.”

Dean was hanging nearby in case either of them had questions, and he looked up at Lex’s statement. “What do you have?”

Lex motioned him over. “Come take a look.”

Griff followed Dean, and they both read over Lex’s shoulder.

“Weird rash of crimes,” Dean paraphrased out loud. “Faith healer in town. People are apparently healed then go off to commit crime. But later, they are found dead and not healed.” He rubbed his chin. “Yeah, might be. God, I hate faith healers.”

Lex gave him a puzzled look. “Why?”

“Long story. I’ll fill you in on the drive.”

Griff pointed out a particular bit. “Look at this. ‘Casey Payne, wife of deceased Glenn, insists her husband was healed. ‘He was walking completely normally. We went out to dinner the night after he was healed and everyone said it was a miracle. I don’t know why he would have robbed that store, but I’m even more puzzled why his legs were back to the way they were before the healer.’”

Lex nodded. “Terrible journalistic writing.”

Both Dean and Griff shot him looks, and the hacker raised his hands. “What? I had to plant fake articles all the time, and I learned how to write them well.”

Griff snorted. “Commentary on the journalistic style of--” He glanced at the byline. “--Mr. Richards, aside. How do you go from paraplegic to walking in front of several witnesses to back to paraplegic again?”

Dean shrugged. “No idea. That’s why we check these things out.” He leaned forward, squinting at the location. “Cuba, Missouri. That shouldn’t be too long a drive.”

Lex was already typing into Google Maps. “About eight and a half hours.” More typing. “Oh, look at this. The Wagon Wheel Motel. With extra long beds. Sam should appreciate that.”

Dean glanced over Lex’s shoulder. “Eighty-nine dollars a night! No way. We’ll go with a Budget or the like. It’ll be fine.”

Sam walked in just then. “Did someone say extra long beds?”

Lex nodded. “Sure did. And don’t worry about the cost, Dean. I’ve got it.”

“Yeah. He'll just use the magic credit card,” Griff said. 

“What do you mean, ‘magic credit card’?” Dean asked.

“It’s what Sarah called the card Lex set us up with.” Griff shrugged. “Guess it’s paid for by terrorist accounts or the like.”

Lex grinned. “This one’s working off a corrupt government, but, yeah, basically the same thing.”

Dean was frowning, but Sam clapped Lex on the shoulder. “Nice job. We won’t have to hustle pool this time.”

Gabriel poked his nose into the library. “When have you needed to hustle pool lately, Sammich? Don’t I take good care of you?”

Sam walked over, kissed his angel and said, “Of course you do. But we need to make our newest hunter feel like he’s helping out.”

Lex flipped them both off before saying, “Two rooms booked for two nights. Think that will be long enough?”

Dean looked faintly disgruntled but then shrugged and said, “Hopefully. Depends. Sometimes it takes longer.” He eyed his brother. “You and me to back them up on this one?”

Sam glanced down at Gabriel, who shrugged. “Sure. Probably better for them to learn without angelic backup at first. From what I overheard, this doesn’t sound like it will require me or Cas.”

Sam kissed the top of his head. “That’s what I was thinking. Besides, I didn’t want to take you away from your binge watching.”

Gabriel slapped Sam on the ass. “That’s what you get for being cheeky with me.”

Dean yelled at them to “get a room,” and Griff smiled at their antics. He caught Lex’s eye, and the hacker nodded at him.

Yeah, this was a much better place for him than what he’d left behind.


	6. Chapter 6

Lex soon learned that “eight and a half hours” by Google Maps did not take into account the way Dean Winchester drove. First, he didn’t need directions, having apparently memorized all the main and secondary roads and most of the back roads in Kansas and Missouri. He also had an almost mystical sense for speed traps and managed to drive close to eighty miles per hour for most of the trip, barely slowing down for the tiny towns they drove through. Nor was he big on breaks.

Including the one short break to fill the tank of Dean’s Impala--both he and Griff had learned Sam wasn’t exaggerating the elder Winchester’s attachment to his car--and get snacks, it took them just over seven and a half hours. Lex was suitably impressed that Dean had managed to shave an entire hour off the travel time. It was a far cry from Bill and his insistence on driving the exact speed limit for the entire trip, which would have added at least an hour, if not longer.

He was also grateful because if he’d had to listen to Metallica or Zeppelin one more time, he might have killed someone. He made a mental note to buy earbuds before the trip back. He had music more to his taste on his phone.

Griff hadn’t seemed to mind and had actually slept for most of the trip, which had Lex shaking his head. There was no way he’d have been able to sleep through that music, but he didn’t begrudge his partner the sleep. He hoped it would do him some good.

They checked into the motel, and even Dean begrudgingly admitted it was a decent step up from their usual accommodations. Sam had given Lex a big smile and had almost hugged him when he saw the bed. “I might actually fit for once!”

They assembled in Sam and Dean’s room to discuss their approach. “How would you start the investigation?” Dean asked.

“Track down the faith healer,” Lex said. “Also, look at the scenes where the healed people supposedly committed the crimes.”

Griff nodded. “I agree. Also, if possible, get a look at the bodies or autopsy reports. The article didn’t say how they had died. Or the condition of the bodies. Check fingerprints if possible. Are we certain they are the same people or was there some kind of substitution?”

Sam and Dean looked at each other. “Okay,” Sam said. “This isn’t the part we need to teach them.”

Lex grinned at them. “Well, Griff and I have been investigating things for a while. It’s pretty much what we do.”

“Okay, true,” Dean said. “So how do you want to split up, Sammy?”

Sam considered for a moment. “I’ll take Lex and we’ll go to the police department to see if we can view crime scenes. You and Griff head for the morgue? We can each ask about the faith healer and see what we come up with.”

Dean nodded. “Sounds good. FBI?”

“Sure,” Sam said.

Lex looked over at Griff who was frowning.

“What, dude?” Dean asked.

Griff shook his head. “You maybe could pass as FBI, but Sam?” He motioned to Sam’s hair. “Not a chance. No agent has hair anywhere close to that long.”

Sam shrugged. “It’s always worked before. ‘Sides, you’re a bit long right now too.”

Lex had to admit Sam had a point. Griff’s hair had been a bit on the long side when he’d broken him out of the mental hospital, and there hadn’t been an opportunity to get it cut since.

Griff ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I need to get mine cut. I’ll take care of it when I get back.”

While Griff and Sam debated hair length, Lex was looking up the location of the morgue on his phone. “Coroner is located in Steelville, about ten minutes from here. The police department is less than a mile from here. Easy walk for us.”

“Eager beaver, isn’t he?” Dean said.

Lex looked up. “What? I like to do my research. Which reminds me. I guess you guys already have badges? If you do the FBI thing all the time?”

“Yeah,” Sam said. “We have an assortment in the car.”

Lex nodded. “Give me a minute, and I’ll make up ones for me and Griff.”

“You already made one for me,” Griff protested.

“One with a fake name, Griff,” Lex said. “And I’ll backstop it so if anyone checks, it’ll come up as legit.”

Sam and Dean looked at each other again. “Okay,” Sam said. “That’s actually useful. You know how to get into the FBI system?”

“Sure,” Lex said. “I’ve had a backdoor into their system for over a decade.” He shook his head. “They suck at checking for that. You’d think they’d be better, but they’re not.”

“Or you are just that good,” Griff remarked.

Lex grinned as he got out his laptop, printer and tiny, portable laminator. “Yeah, it could be that too.”

Sam and Dean watched him with interest as he first created badges using the blank he had on his laptop. He used his usual fake name, “Alexander Hamilton,” and he asked Griff what he wanted. Griff considered for a moment and finally said, “Don Nelson. One of my former Directors. It’ll be easy to remember.” Lex added the name to the blank, printed it and then laminated it. While the IDs cooled, he hacked into the FBI database and added their names to the Jefferson City FBI office. When he was finished, he handed Griff his ID.

Dean cleared his throat. “Uh. Could you maybe do that for us too?”

Lex nodded. “Sure. What names do you want?”

Sam and Dean exchanged glances. “Guess if he’s adding them to a database, we should come up with something better than our usual band member names.”

Dean looked like he was going to protest for a moment and then said, “Yeah, I guess.”

When they drew a blank on names, Lex pulled up a website for “Popular Baby Names from the 80s.” He tried to give “Michael” to Dean, but the hunter shook his head. Oh, right. The archangel they were going to be fighting. He gave him “Daniel Johnson,” and he gave Sam “Joshua Lewis.” The Joshua part was in honor of his old boss. He made ID cards for them and added the names into the database.

The whole thing took less than half an hour, and he felt good about being able to use his skills.

Everyone changed into their suits. Lex thought Griff wore his the best, but that was probably because it had been a part of his job for years. Lex did have to admit that both Winchesters cleaned up well, and he had to stop himself from admiring Sam too much. Had to remember he was taken. By an archangel.

Dean and Griff drove to the morgue, and Sam turned to Lex. “You have the directions to the station?”

“Right here,” Lex said, indicating his phone. 

“Good. Let’s go.”

They walked in silence to the police station. Lex still had questions, but he didn’t know how to ask any of them, so he stuck with his thoughts.

“Assume you know how to play a part, Lex?” Sam asked when they were about a block away from the station.

“Sure. Had to do it some for the CIA. Griff’s better at it, though.”

“Want me to lead?”

“All right.” Lex figured Sam had been doing this for a long time, and he might learn something. If this was his new life, he might as well figure out how to do it right.

Sam entered the police station and headed straight for the desk, walking as if he owned the place. Lex knew he couldn’t imitate that, so he went for following in his wake like an agent who was still learning. Even though he was 40, many people still thought he was almost a decade younger, and he thought he could pull off the new agent look.

Sam pulled out his badge and spoke to the clerk. “Agent Lewis, and this is my partner, Agent Hamilton. We’re with the FBI.”

The clerk gave both their IDs a glance but didn’t seem impressed. “What brings the FBI to Cuba?”

“We understand you’ve had some odd deaths. They might be related to a case we’re working on, and our Field Office sent us to take a look.”

“Need to talk to the Chief,” came the laconic reply.

“Is he in?” Sam asked.

“Might be.” The clerk didn’t move.

Sam’s pleasant, professional expression didn’t change. Lex was impressed. He played the role differently from Griff, but he suspected it worked most of the time.

“Perhaps you could check on it for us?” Sam made it sound as if it were the most reasonable request in the world.

The clerk shrugged and turned to go through a door that led deeper into the building.

“Gatekeepers are always the first barrier to get through,” Sam said in an aside to Lex.

The hacker nodded. “Of course. Nicely done, so far.”

Sam shrugged. “All depends on whether he brings the Chief back with him.”

A moment later, the clerk returned, with a tall black woman following him. She wore a uniform and had the air of someone comfortable with command. Lex was mildly surprised, having expected the Chief of Police in a small Midwestern town to have been an older white male.

She looked them over with an expression that indicated she didn’t think much of what she saw. She seemed to pay particular attention to Sam’s hair. Lex suppressed his urge to straighten to his full height, and he managed to maintain an air of interested professionalism.

“FBI?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” Sam said.

“What makes you think our deaths have anything to do with one of your cases?”

“It’s the faith healer. We’ve been investigating some deaths in Kansas, and a faith healer has been linked to those as well.”

Lex was mentally taking notes. Sam reminded him of Stiles in that moment. Quick on his feet with an answer, polite and professional but not letting himself be pushed around.

“Huh,” the woman said right before extending her hand. “Saundra King.”

Sam took it and said, “Joshua Lewis.” He motioned to Lex. “And my partner, Alexander Hamilton.”

She gave Lex a small smile. “Parents did you no favors with that one.”

Lex returned the smile. “No, but I’ve learned to appreciate it.”

“Guess you had to.” Her tone returned to professional. “So what do you need from us?”

“Access to the crime scenes, if possible,” Sam said.

She shook her head. “All of them were in public places, and we’ve opened them back up. You’ll have to make do with photos.”

Sam nodded. “If that’s what you have, we’d like to take a look at them.”

She motioned them through the door she had come through. “I’ll have them brought to my office. If you have any ideas, I’m all ears.”

Her office was small and crowded with files and books. She indicated Lex could just move the pile of papers onto the third chair. Sam’s was clear, so usually only one visitor at a time.

As soon as Lex was seated, the clerk came in carrying a stack of files. Saundra said, “Go ahead.”

Sam handed one file to Lex and opened another. Lex glanced through his. It was the case mentioned in the article he’d shown to Dean. Apparently Glenn Payne, who had been paralyzed from the waist down, had held up a convenience store. The total take had been less than $500 plus a stack of scratch-off lottery tickets. The store clerk had reported that Glenn had shown up with a gun, held him up, taken the money and left. When the police had showed up, Glenn was in the alley, dead.

Lex flipped to the coroner’s report. There had been an examination of Glenn’s spinal column, and the injury which had paralyzed him was still present. It hadn’t mysteriously healed. He scanned the rest. No sign of drugs, beyond the various prescriptions Glenn was on. Then he noticed something odd. The estimated time of death was at least two hours before the robbery. It was noted as an anomaly, but the coroner’s notes explained that determining time of death was imprecise.

Lex knew that, but it was still something to take note of.

Sam was flipping through a second file, and Lex picked up the fourth and last one. This time he went straight to the autopsy report. Again, the time of death was odd, this time three hours before the crime, a hold up at night in a local park.

He glanced over at Sam, who had put down his second file.

“Well, agents?” Saundar asked.

Lex let Sam answer, not certain how the hunter wanted to proceed.

Sam shook his head. “Nothing new, unfortunately. There are some similarities to the other crimes we are investigating, but I can’t say for certain that it’s the same perpetrator. I assume you’ve questioned the faith healer?”

Saundra shook her head. “No. These all happened quickly, within the space of only two days, and by the time we made the connection to the healer, he’d skipped town.”

“Does the healer have a name?” Lex asked, wondering if he could track him down.

“Brenden Matthews.”

Lex took out his phone and made a note of the name. It wasn’t exactly a common name, but it wasn’t so unusual that it would be easy to research either.

“We’re working with two other agents on this. They are at the coroner’s office, hoping to take a look at the bodies,” Sam said. “We’ll meet up with them, compare notes, and if we have anything new, we’ll share it with you.” He stood up, indicating their visit was at an end.

Saundra stood up too and escorted them out of her office. “That would be appreciated. We do have some leads we’re following up on, but we’ll be happy to take a look at anything you discover.”

Lex could tell by her tone of voice that she was lying. They had no new leads, but she wasn’t about to admit that to two FBI agents.

They both shook her hand and left the station. Sam waited until they were several blocks away before asking, “So you noticed the odd times of death?”

Lex nodded. “Yes, Glenn Payne was off by two hours and Sarah Smith was off by three.” Saying the woman’s name made him wonder if there was a Sarah in this universe who corresponded to the Sarah in the Jericho universe.

Sam smiled in approval. “Yeah, the two I looked at were about the same. So I think we can safely assume none of them committed the crimes they were found near. This is looking more like our kind of case.”

“I’ll try to track down the faith healer. I also want to see if I can hack into the security cameras at the convenience store ‘Glenn’ tried to rob. Maybe we’ll notice something unusual.”

“Good idea,” Sam said.

“I’d better do it quickly, though. It’s been almost 48 hours since the robbery. Security tapes often overwrite after about two days.”

“You head back to the motel and check that out. I’m going to walk around town and see if I can learn anything from talking to people.”

“That sounds good,” Lex said. “Hopefully Dean and Griff will have something when they get back.”

“We can hope,” Sam said. He crossed the street, heading for a small diner. That was a good place to start, Lex thought. In a town this size, the local diner was often a hotbed of rumors and gossip. He continued down the street back to the motel and his laptop, which he suspected was always going to be his preferred hunting tool.


	7. Chapter 7

Dean drove, of course. Griff gave some thought to their possible approach. He’d only been a part of a few small town cases. Contrary to what was shown on TV, the FBI rarely showed up to investigate small town murders. Even considering the oddities of this one, he doubted it would actually have caught the Bureau’s attention, unless the Cuba police had called for assistance, which happened occasionally.

As if echoing his thoughts, Dean said, “We know the FBI rarely shows up on cases like this, but we play on the fact that most people, even cops, get too much of their information from TV.”

Griff grinned. “Yeah. I was just thinking that.” He shrugged. “On the other hand, if it works, use it.”

“Sometimes we’re Federal Marshalls, Fish and Game. Whatever seems likely to get us access to what we need.”

“I get that. Lex set me and Sarah up as IRS agents in the other universe.”

Dean laughed. “We’ve never tried that one, I don’t think. Bet no one messed with you. No one wants to be audited.”

“No one messed with us, except the demon who was in the building.” He couldn’t quite suppress a shudder at the memory of the feeling of cold, greasy evil that had accompanied that demon and the other ones they had encountered.

“Demons aren’t put off by much,” Dean agreed.

“So how do you usually play these?” Griff asked. He knew how he’d go about getting information, but he was curious how the more experienced Hunter did it.

Dean shrugged and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “Nothing too special. We usually show up, flash our badges and take it from there. Our usual ‘cover story’ such as it is, is that the local crimes are similar to something else the Bureau is investigating, and we’ve been sent to compare notes.”

Griff nodded. That made sense and was basically in line with what he’d been thinking.

Dean flashed him a challenging grin. “You want to lead on this one, G-man?”

Griff rolled his eyes. “You watch too much TV. You know that no one really calls us that, right?”

“Yeah. But you gotta haze the new guy, at least a little bit.”

They pulled into the parking lot of a small building, set off on the side of town. Dean parked and checked his badge. Griff didn’t have to check his. It was exactly where he’d always kept it, in the right side back pocket of his slacks. However, there was one part of his disguise missing. “Got a pistol and holster?”

Dean nodded. “Yeah. I think I have something in the trunk. Ought to get you your own weapon once this is over.”

Griff nodded in agreement. He’d been using a borrowed weapon too long by now.

They got out of the car, and Dean rummaged in his trunk, coming up with a serviceable automatic and under the arm holster. Griff took them and checked over the gun which looked fine. The holster was close enough to what he was used to that he could manage for now. He’d get with Lex when they got back to the Bunker and order what he preferred.

“Work for you?” Dean asked.

Griff nodded. “Sure. For now.”

He put on the holster and settled it and the gun comfortably under his suit jacket. The jacket wasn’t cut or tailored to conceal the gun, but he doubted it would matter. After satisfying himself that he could draw as needed, he straightened the jacket and took a second to get into agent mode. He was pleased that it still felt comfortable. Six months in that damned mental hospital hadn’t completely messed him up.

Gabriel’s grace sat, warm and comfortable, in the center of his chest, and he took strength from its presence. He could do this. All in a day’s work.

He motioned to Dean. “Let’s do this.”

They walked into the coroner's office, and there was a middle-aged gentleman, dressed in a white lab coat, sitting at a small desk in one corner of the room. The rest of the room had morgue tables and all the paraphernalia needed to perform an autopsy. On the opposite side of the room from the small desk were two free-standing mortuary cabinets on wheels.

The man glanced over at them, and Griff realized he was eating his lunch. Griff prided himself on having a strong stomach, but that was a bit much, even for him.

“May I help you?” he said.

Griff pulled out his badge. “Special Agent Don Nelson.” He motioned to Dean. “And this is my partner, Special Agent Daniel Johnson. We're here looking into the recent crimes you've been having, and we were hoping we could see the bodies of the people who were supposedly performing them.”

Dean flashed his badge along with Griff and stood a step or two back, expression alert and interested, but he was obviously leaving this up to Griff.

The man laughed, stood up, started to offer his hand, stopped, wiped it on his lab coat, started to offer it again and then just put both hands in the pockets of his lab coat. Griff managed to suppress a smile at the awkwardness.

“Don Beyer,” the man said. “Not sure why the FBI is interested in this, but it's a mystery. I'm happy for the help.”

“We think there might be a link between yours and some crimes we're investigating. Hopefully a look at the bodies will give us an idea if they are related.”

Don motioned to the cabinets. “Glenn's body, the first one, has been released to the family. But the other three are there. Drawers 4-6. I need to run a quick errand. Mind keeping an eye on things for fifteen minute or so?” He gave a quick laugh. “Not that they are going anywhere, of course.”

Griff smiled back. Fifteen minutes alone with the bodies was just about perfect. “Of course,” was all he said, though.

Don left, and as soon as the door was closed, Dean and Griff were moving toward the cabinet. There was a box of latex gloves on top of the cabinet, and both of them gloved up. Griff opened drawer number 4 and pulled out the tray. The smell wasn’t too bad yet, for which he was grateful.

He and Dean examined the body, a slightly overweight man in his thirties, Griff guessed. The reason he had been to a faith healer was obvious. He was missing his left leg.

Dean turned to rummage among the files on a nearby table. “What’s the name of this guy?” he asked.

Griff checked the toe tag. “Reginald Jones,” he said.

Dean picked up a folder, opened it and flipped through the pages. Griff continued his examination of the body. Other than the autopsy cuts, there were no visible wounds or obvious cause of death. He lifted an arm, looking for needle marks or something else. He didn’t see anything, but suddenly the warmth of grace within his chest increased. Not enough to hurt but certainly enough to notice.

Okay, that was weird. Playing a hunch, he opened the next drawer and pulled out the body of a young women. Her eyes were missing, but there were no recent wounds, and Griff assumed blindness was the disability she had been trying to cure. Again, no obvious cause of death, but as soon as he touched her arm, the grace felt warmer again.

“Cause of death for Mr. Jones seems to be a venus air embolism,” Dean said.

So someone had injected air into his vein. “Anything in his tox report?” Griff asked. There were no obvious signs of a struggle, so he assumed the man hadn’t been conscious when the air had been injected.

“Yeah. High levels of rohypnol.”

Griff raised an eyebrow. “They were roofied?”

“This one was, at least.” Dean flipped quickly through the other folders. “Looks like they all were.”

Griff thought for a minute. “So roofied to keep them quiet and then killed with an air embolism?”

“Sounds like it,” Dean agreed. “Find anything on the bodies?”

“Not exactly,” Griff said.

“What does that mean?”

“Well, when I touch the body.” He reached out again and touched the woman’s arm. The grace glowed within him. “The grace in me gets warm.”

“What’s that mean?” Dean asked, frowning.

“I’m not sure. Gabriel said the grace might allow me and Lex to detect supernatural creatures. But the only ones we’ve encountered so far were demons, and I could sense them, but I don’t think it was the grace doing it then. So maybe I’m sensing something supernatural?”

“Weird,” Dean said. “Too bad we don’t have Lex here to see if he feels the same thing.”

“Anything else noteworthy in the autopsy report?” Griff asked.

“Not that I noticed. And Sam and I have gotten pretty good at reading them over the years.”

“I bet.” Just to be thorough, he opened the final drawer and touched the body. Grace got warm. He opened one of the other drawers and found the body of a young boy, maybe five or six. Knowing he was unlikely to be one of the people they were investigating, he touched the boy. The grace didn’t react.

“Anything from him?” Dean asked, apparently realizing what he was testing.

“Nope. So I’m only getting it from the bodies of the people supposedly involved in the crimes.”

“Which is interesting but doesn’t actually tell us much.”

“True.” Griff rolled all the bodies back into their drawers, and was closing the last door when the coroner came back.

“Anything, agents?” he asked.

“Hard to tell,” Griff said. “So cause of death for all of them was an air embolism?”

“Yep. And if you looked at the tox report, they were all roofied as well. From the levels in their blood, they’d been drugged for a while. At least a day. So I’m concluding they were kept drugged for some time and then someone killed them with the embolism when they were no longer of use? Which doesn’t explain how all of them were seen committing crimes just before they died. Oh, and, at least according to witnesses, were perfect healthy while they were committing the crimes. You noticed Mr. Smith is missing a leg? Witnesses all agreed he had both of them when he did the smash and grab at the department store.” He shook his head. “I’m mystified.” He gave them a hopeful look. “Anything that relates to your cases?”

“Like I said, it’s hard to tell,” Griff said. “We’ve got another couple of agents working with us, and we’ll let you know if we find something.”

Don frowned. “Four of you? That’s a lot for a small town like this.”

“The case we’re investigating is pretty big,” Dean said. “Thank you for the look at your files, sir.” He turned to leave, and Griff followed him.

“You’re welcome. Don’t keep it to yourself if you find something that might help us.”

“We won’t,” Griff said. They didn’t hurry out of the building, but nor did they tarry, walking quickly back to the car.

As soon as they were back on the road, Dean said, “Go ahead and call Sam. See if they’ve found anything.”

Griff asked for Sam’s number and dialed. “Agent Lewis” came the answer quickly.

“It’s Griff.”

“Oh, hey, Griff. I should add your number.”

“Likewise. Find anything?” He put the call on speaker.

“Maybe. Time of death was several hours earlier than the crimes they supposedly committed.”

Dean was nodding. “I noticed that too. Anything else?”

“Nothing really in the crime scene photos that stood out. The faith healer has already moved on, but we have a name. Lex is going to try to track him down. Also, he’s going to try to hack the security video from the convenience store. Maybe we’ll see something there.”

Griff smiled. If there was anything to find, he was confident Lex would find it.

“Okay, Sam,” Dean said. “We’re on our way back. Reconvene at the hotel?”

“Sounds like a plan. Meet you there.”

Griff hung up and handed the phone back. “So not a lot to go on yet.”

“Better hope your twin can find something. Prove that he’s the hot shot hacker Gabriel told us.”

Griff nodded but said nothing. Lex’s abilities would speak for themselves.

***

Lex had made some progress when Dean opened the door to the hotel room, followed by Griff and Sam.

“Anything, guys?” Lex asked.

Dean and Griff filled him in what they had found at the coroner’s office. Lex frowned at Griff mentioning the grace reacting to the bodies. “Wonder if I can come with an excuse to get down there and see if mine reacts.”

“Said the same thing,” Dean said. “So what did you find?”

Lex motioned them all to sit. “It’s weird. I hacked into the security cameras and downloaded the footage we need, but I haven’t looked at it yet. I was waiting for you all and have been trying to track down the faith healer. That’s where things get weird.”

“Define weird,” Sam said,

Lex clicked on a few windows on his laptop to tile them on his screen and then turned the computer so the others could see. They all leaned forward, with Sam showing the most eagerness.

What Lex had brought up were several news articles about crimes happening near a faith healer. Griff’s eyebrows went up quickly, and Lex knew he’d seen it, but it was Sam who actually said, “They all look similar to what we’re seeing here, but the healer is different each time.”

Lex nodded. “Exactly. In one instance ‘he’ was a she. But the pattern is the same. Healer rolls into town, heals some people, who then apparently commit crimes but then ends up dead. Healer rolls out of town just before the police make the connection and go in search of him or her for questioning.”

Sam and Dean looked at each other and nodded before turning to Griff and Lex. “What does it sound like to you?”

Now Griff looked at Lex, who saw that his partner knew the answer, and he nodded, indicating Griff could field this one.

“A shifter,” Griff said.

Sam and Dean nodded. “Sounds like it to us too,” Sam said. He motioned to the computer. “With a bit of luck, the footage will confirm it.”

Lex turned the laptop back so he could bring up the security camera footage. Less than a minute in, “Glenn” glanced toward the camera, revealing the telltale retinal flare of a shifter.

“Well, that’s confirmed,” Dean said, clapping Lex on the shoulder. “Good work, man.”

Griff was frowning, obviously in thought. “What’re you thinking, Griff?” Lex asked.

“Cause of death the same in the other cases?” Griff asked.

Lex smiled. “Yes, I did hack into the files of the other cases. Well, two of them, at least. Apparently Nashville, Indiana still keeps everything on paper only.” He rolled his eyes at the backwardness of the town. “And yes, cause of death was an air embolism, just like in the cases here. With rohypnol in the bodies.”

Griff nodded, apparently not surprised by that. “So, explain this. Our shifter is obviously impersonating ‘his’ victims.” The air quotes were evident in his tone. “He’s disguising himself to commit crimes and then killing them, right?”

“Right,” Sam said.

“So why is he using a fairly sophisticated method of killing his victims but is perpetrating such unsophisticated crimes? I mean, he’s mostly doing some variation of smash and grabs. He’s not getting more than a few hundred dollars at most from each crime. Why isn’t he...I don’t know...imitating an armored car driver and making off with several hundred thousand dollars?”

Lex had been wondering the same thing, and from the expression on the Winchesters’ faces, they thought the question had merit.

“Good question, Griff,” Sam said.

“It is, but do we need to know the answer before we find the guy?” Dean asked. “Will it help us find him?”

“Not if we hurry,” Lex said.

Every eye snapped to him. “You know where he is?” Griff asked.

Lex grinned and nodded. “Pretty sure I do.” He turned the laptop to face himself once more, clicked to maximize another window and then turned it around.

The other three men were nodding as they read what was on the screen.

_Miracle Healing in Sarcoxie, Missouri_

“It’s about 2 and a half hours from here, according to Google Maps,” Lex said. “Which means something like 2 hours the way you drive, Dean.”

Dean laughed while Sam looked sadly at the extra long beds. “Didn’t even get a single night in one of those,” the taller Winchester said.

“Just as well,” Dean said. “You’ll start to go soft, Sammy.”

Lex chuckled and started to pack up his laptop.


	8. Chapter 8

Griff watched Lex grumbling at his phone as they drove. “What’s wrong?” he asked the hacker.

“Can’t find a decent hotel in Sarcoxie. Best I can find is a Best Western.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Dean asked. “A little pricey for us, still, but definitely decent.”

Griff laughed. “You don’t understand. As long as Lex isn’t spending his own money, he doesn’t like to settle for anything less than four star.”

Sam poked his brother. “Just like when I was hunting that dragon with Crowley.”

That was enough to pull Lex out of his phone. “Dragon?”

Sam and Dean made the next fifty or so miles go by more quickly with the story of how Death had set them the task of opening the Gates of Heaven. Griff decided he kind of liked this Crowley character and wondered if he’d ever be able to meet him.

Even though both he and Dean grumbled about it--for different reasons--Lex got them a couple of rooms at the Best Western in Sarcoxie, and they convened in one of the rooms to plan their strategy.

“It’s pretty late,” Sam said. “Do you think we have time to grab some sleep before we track down the healer?”

Griff was quickly learning that there was nothing like a regular sleep schedule while hunting, and he was glad he’d slept during most of the trip from Lebanon to Cuba. It was almost 9 pm, and they’d been on the go for more than fifteen hours now, having left Lebanon at around 5 am that morning. Apparently Dean liked “getting an early start” on a hunt.

Lex had gotten out his laptop and was connecting to his portable WiFi device.

“You sure you want to keep using that, Lex?” Griff asked.

“What is it anyway?” Dean asked.

“My old government issue encrypted WiFi,” Lex answered.

“Sure no one’s going to come looking for it?” Dean asked.

“They aren’t as long as I don’t do something stupid,” Lex answered, sounding slightly affronted.

“And when was the last time you did something stupid?” Dean asked.

Griff had to smile at the memory of Sarah having asked exactly the same question when they’d been in her universe.

Lex gave basically the same answer as then. “About twelve years ago when I hacked the wrong database. And then the CIA hired me.”

“So not even that stupid,” Griff added. “Okay. Point taken. Still, be careful.”

Lex nodded. “I am.” He typed for a bit and said, “Okay. We can grab a short nap. Next show isn’t until midnight. Seems like he wants the cover of darkness for this.”

“Makes sense,” Sam said. “Most monsters do.”

They agreed to meet up in a couple of hours and gear up to go shifter hunting.

***

This was the part of the hunt that Lex had been dreading. His image of himself had always been as the computer guy. He’d always had someone else, like Stiles, to handle the physical part of the missions. Sam and Gabriel both had said he was a quick study with knife fighting, and he could handle a shotgun reasonably well, but he wasn’t sure he could hold up his end in a real fight.

The four of them stood behind the Impala, and Dean was handing out weapons. “What works on shifters?” the Hunter asked.

“Silver,” both Griff and Lex said in unison. “That was too easy,” Griff added.

Dean gave both of them a grin. “Gotta make sure.” He handed Griff a silver knife. “It’s got an edge but silver is too soft to keep a good one, so it’s not as sharp as what you’re used to.”

Griff nodded and tested the blade with a light pressure on his arm before sheathing it.

Dean handed Lex a shotgun and a machete. “Beheading works too. A machete doesn’t take much finesse to use. If you get a chance, whack.” He handed over some shells. “Silver shot.”

Lex took both with some trepidation, which he tried not to show. As soon as Sam and Dean bent over the trunk, Griff gave him a quick encouraging smile. Lex appreciated it. Yeah, he and Griff had fought demons. He could do this.

Griff also got some silver ammunition for his pistol.

Dean had an angel blade and and his 1911. Sam had his Taurus, a silver knife and a machete.

“It may seem like overkill, Lex,” Sam said. “But it’s always better to be over prepared than under.”

Lex nodded. “I’m not going to argue with that.” He stopped himself before he expressed his concern that he might not be able to hold up his end of the fight. It was only one monster, right?

Sam distracted him by tossing him a long black coat. “Here, Lex. This is Gabe’s so it’ll fit you. Cover up that shotgun and machete.”

Lex put it on, and yes, the two weapons fit under it, and the coat draped so nothing was visible.

He noticed everyone else was wearing a jacket that concealed their weapons. Sam’s was just long enough to cover his machete. He made a mental note to order himself a long coat when he got back. Although, there was something nice about wearing Gabriel’s. He almost thought he got a whiff of thunderstorm when he put it on.

“All right,” Dean said. “Everyone in the car. Let’s go take this thing down.”

As soon as they were in the car, Griff reached over to give Lex’s leg a surreptitious squeeze. Lex gave him a quick answering smile, hoping the man could see it in the dim parking lot lighting.

As they drove for where the faith healing was being held, Sam said, “So? The plan?”

“Need to see what we’re up against, first,” Griff said. “So I’m thinking at least a couple of us should be in the show tent. Maybe two outside to see if anything happens backstage? I’m assuming this is one of those standard tent revival things.”

Lex was nodding. “Based on the pictures in the various news stories, yes.”

“So Griff and Dean inside the tent?” Sam asked. “You and me, Lex, outside?”

So far he was enjoying partnering with Sam, so he had no objections. He dug in his pack and pulled out two pairs of AirPods.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Dean said, glancing over his shoulder at what Lex was doing. “No way I’m wearing those!”

Lex shrugged and handed them to Griff, who eyed them with some trepidation.

“Oh, come on, guys!” Lex said in exasperation. “Yes, they are ugly as fuck. I prefer the Bose wireless earbuds myself, but the Apple ones are so ubiquitous that literally no one notices them.”

“Oh, everyone notices them,” Dean protested. “And thinks about how only douchebags wear them in public.”

“And then promptly disregards them because who wants to give douchebags any attention,” Lex added.

Dean started to say something and then closed his mouth.

Sam was looking into the back seat. “That’s a good point, Lex. Nice job. Dean and I usually just call each other, but this is a bit more discreet.”

“Won’t work with my phone,” Dean said. “I don’t have an overpriced piece of Apple crap.”

“AirPods pair just fine with Android,” Lex said. “And your Samsung phone is a overpriced as my Apple. Nice try, Dean.”

Griff grumbled a bit, but he put in the AirPods. Lex got everything paired and tried a test phone call. “You and Dean shouldn't get too far apart. As soon as we get back to the Bunker, I’m ordering Dean his own set of AirPods.”

Before Dean could protest anymore about AirPods, they arrived where the tent was set up in the athletic field by the local high school. There was parking at the school and in the lot next to the nearby Baptist Church.

Dean found a place to park--the lots were filling up quickly--and they all got out of the Impala.

“Okay, Griff, you’re with me on the inside,” Dean said. “Sam and Lex, you go around back. We’ll take it from there.”

Lex checked the weapons under his coat. All present and accounted for. His AirPods were connected to his phone, which was in his shirt pocket. He was as ready as he was going to be.

“Let’s go, Lex,” Sam said as he started around the tent. Lex followed, checking to make sure no one was paying them any particular attention. Looked clear so far.

***

Griff looked around as they entered the tent. The structure was almost full, with the only available seats near the back. Most of the people were talking, and the noise level was nearly deafening. At least a quarter of the people had obvious disabilities: missing limbs, being in a wheelchair, severe skin burns and the like. There were at least twenty service dogs in the tent, and the animals were all quiet, unlike their charges.

He noticed Dean shivering and holding his arms across his chest. “What’s wrong?” Griff asked.

“Really don’t like faith healers,” Dean said. “I’ll tell you why some day.”

Griff didn’t dislike where they were any more than a similarly loud location, but, no, this wasn’t his favorite way to spend time. He found a seat near the back, and motioned Dean to sit. They had a good enough view of the stage to see what was going on, but they would be able to get out quickly if the situation warranted it.

His earbud “rang,” and he tapped the earpiece like Lex had shown him. “You guys inside?” came the hacker’s voice over the earbuds.

“Yes,” he said, trying to keep his voice down, not missing the fact that it was unlikely anyone could hear him or would care, as long as he was careful about what he said. “We’re settled with a good view of the stage. Where are you?”

“Just behind the tent. There’s a flap that we think leads to the backstage area. Keep the call connected so we can let you know if anything happens back here.”

“Got it,” Griff said, wishing for the throat mics he’d had on tactical teams in his previous life. Maybe Lex could order them up the good stuff? This AirPod thing was really uncomfortable, and it kept trying to fall out of his ear. He was pretty sure his universe hadn’t had them, and he was sure they weren’t missing much.

Just then, a young woman, maybe in her early twenties, dressed in a black blazer and trousers with a white blouse--very professional looking--came out on stage and called for everyone to be quiet. Griff was surprised at how quickly everyone stopped talking and found their seats. Dean sat up straight, and his eyes scanned back and forth across the room. Griff was doing the same, and he was so distracted by watching the crowd that he didn’t notice his grace heating up for several seconds. By the time he noticed, a second person, this one an older man in a well-tailored gray suit, had already joined the young woman. Griff couldn’t be certain which one of them his grace had reacted to. Or had it reacted to something else entirely?

“What’s wrong?” Dean asked.

Griff hadn’t even realized he had reacted visibly, and he tried to relax his shoulders, which had tightened up. “My grace just reacted. But I don’t know which of them it reacted to.”

“Which one who?” came Lex’s voice in his ear.

“There are two people on stage,” Griff said, trying to keep his voice low. A woman from the row in front of him turned to give him a stern look.

The man started speaking. His voice was oddly high and uncertain, not what he would have expected from a faith healer. In his admittedly limited experience, they were usually masters at playing a crowd. This guy wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t as good as Griff would have expected.

Three people with varying disabilities went up on stage, and the man made a production out of examining them. For suitability of healing? All three were eventually sent back into the audience, disappointed. However, the crowd remained hopeful.

“Not much of a healer,” Dean leaned over to whisper.

“No,” Griff agreed. “Not sure what he’s doing exactly.”

“Is your grace stuff still doing whatever it does?”

Griff managed to suppress a smile at Dean’s wording. “Yes, it’s still warm, but that’s not telling me much.”

The woman from in front of him turned to give him a stern look again, but this one was stepped up a notch. It reminded him of several of the nuns who had taught him in Catholic school.

Just then, a stir of excitement went through the crowd, and Griff turned his attention back to the stage where a man missing both arms was on the stage and both the healer--Griff realized he still hadn’t gotten the guy’s name; the sign on the tent had just read _Faith Healing Today_ \--had his head bowed in apparent prayer. From the reaction of the crowd, he assumed that meant something was going to happen.

Sure enough, after several moments of prayer, both the healer and the woman took the man to be healed backstage. This was apparently expected, and everyone started chanting “Heal him. Heal him,” for several minutes. Just as Griff was starting to think he’d go nuts if he heard the chant one more time, the healer came back out. He was accompanied by the man he’d just “healed,” who now had both of his arms. Griff suddenly realized they’d made a mistake.

“Dean,” he whispered, an edge in his voice. “There’s not just one shifter. There have to be two.”

Dean started to say something, stopped, got a look of concentration on his face and then swore under his breath. “Damn. You’re right.”

Griff was mentally kicking himself for not realizing it before. The healer was obviously a shifter or he couldn’t keep altering his appearance before each show. But the victim had to be replaced by a shifter as well, and there had been several pictures in newspaper articles showing both the healer and the “healed” side by side.

He was already out of his seat and moving for the exit to the tent, wanting to say something to Lex but not in there. Dean followed him but stopped at the entrance, where he could still see the stage. As soon as Griff was outside, he said, “Lex. There’s two shifters. One is the healer and the other is the victim.”

Swearing sounded in his ear, but it was quickly replaced by, “Have they made a switch yet?”

“Yes.”

“We’re going in to get the victim.”

“Be careful. There are at least two, but there may be more.” He wanted to be there, helping guard Lex and Sam’s back, but he and Dean needed to stay here, to make sure they knew where the two shifters they knew about were and if they moved to go backstage.

He sent up a silent prayer to whatever God existed in this place to keep them safe.

***

Lex quickly explained the situation to Sam, who nodded and drew his knife. Lex debated between the shotgun and the machete and decided a shotgun in the close quarters was just asking for trouble. He drew his machete and followed Sam, who was drawing back the tent flap.

Immediately, they ran into trouble. Yes, the victim was there, lying, apparently unconscious in a heap on the dirt floor behind the stage. Unfortunately, there was also another man there, and he was both conscious and turning in their direction.

Shit!

The man was on top of Sam almost before Lex could see him move. Right. Shifters move fast. The shifter grabbed Sam and threw him out of the tent before turning to Lex.

The hacker felt his grace grow warm in his chest. It couldn’t have done that before they encountered the monster? His thoughts sped up slightly, and he had just enough time to yell, “There’s a third one!” into his AirPod before the shifter was on him.

This time, he wasn’t aiming to throw him out of the tent. He looked like he was going for the kill. Lex got his machete up just in time to block the monster’s first attack, but it moved too quickly for Lex to follow, and half a second later, it was grabbing him from behind, hands gripping his head.

Right before it snapped his neck, another body hit them both, knocking the shifter just enough off balance that Lex was able to scramble free, thanking his grace as he did so. The monster was strong and almost kept his grip.

As he stumbled forward and caught his balance enough to turn around, he saw the shifter and Sam circling each other. Sam had his silver knife in an underhand grip and looked ready to strike as soon as he had an opportunity. The shifter moved, and Lex was afraid he’d get Sam, but the tall Hunter moved with surprising speed and got in a good slash over the shifter’s ribs.

The monster screamed, and Lex got his wits back enough to realize he needed to help. But how? Sam and the shifter were too close together for him to get in place for a beheading strike. He needed to separate them. But how? Without getting himself killed?

Before he had time to figure it out, Griff’s voice came over his earpiece. “Shit! They’re onto us.”

Lex’s blood ran cold. He and Sam faced only one monster, and they were having trouble. Griff and Dean were up against two of them.

“Go,” Sam said. “I’ve got this one.”

Lex wanted to ask him if he was sure, but there wasn’t time. He turned to run up the stage. The monster whirled to follow him, obviously sensing he was the easier target, but Sam grabbed him and pulled him back.

Wow! Sam was strong.

Lex dashed out through the curtain blocking the back area from the main stage.

***

When Griff heard Lex’s panicked “There’s a third one!” in his earpiece, he immediately went into professional mode. First, get the civilians out of the way. He stood to his full height, took a deep breath and said, projecting as loudly as he could without yelling, “There’s been a bomb threat reported. We need everyone to move in an orderly fashion to the nearest exit.”

To his surprise, people started moving. Not in quite as orderly a fashion as he would have hoped, but they were starting to clear the tent.

Dean looked like he was going to make a comment about priorities, but then he shrugged and started directing people out of the tent.

Griff was watching the two people on stage as much as he was directing the crowd. They were frowning and whispering to each other. If anyone had been watching, they would have wondered why they appeared so familiar with each other.

Just as the first few people exited the tent, a scream sounded from backstage, and the crowd started pushing and moving faster. The two shifters’ heads went up, and they started moving for the back.

Oh no, that would mean Lex and Sam would have to deal with three shifters by themselves. Griff pushed his way into the tent, using every trick he had ever learned in crowd control to project an attitude to make people get out of his way. As soon as he was in a slightly clear space, he pulled his pistol and fired one shot into the roof of the tent.

The crowd started moving even faster then. A couple of the service dogs even barked. Dean pushed his way to Griff’s side. The shifters stopped their dash to the back and turned to look at them. Dean and Griff “waded” through the crowd, trying to draw attention to themselves. Dean had his angel blade out, and people moving past him drew back, giving them a clear bubble to maneuver in.

Griff kept his pistol out, hoping to get in at least one shot before the monsters were upon him. Gabriel’s grace hung warm in his chest.

Finally, they were past the crowd, and the shifters were leaping off the stage to attack. Griff fired once, into the chest of the “healed” man. He dropped to the ground and didn’t move.

To Griff’s surprise, the second shifter cried out, threw himself on the dead shifter and started crying, rocking the dead man back and forth.

What the heck?


	9. Chapter 9

Lex dashed up the stairs to the stage and ducked under the curtain, hoping there wasn’t anything on the other side to take his head off. The first thing he saw was the tail end of the crowd leaving the tent. He remembered hearing Griff saying something about a bomb threat, and it had obviously worked. The next thing he saw was one man on the ground, holding another in his arm, rocking back and forth. Griff and Dean were covering both of them.

Dean raised his eyes to look at Lex. Griff’s attention remained on the two figures on the floor of the tent. “Sam?” Dean asked.

Deciding that Griff and Dean had the front half of the tent covered, he turned on his heel to go back for Sam. “Still fighting one. I’ll go help him.”

Wondering if he was going to actually do any fighting or just go back and forth between battles, he trotted to the curtain, took a moment to listen and then ducked under just in time to see the shifter grab Sam and start to perform the same maneuver he’d tried on Lex. Sam was struggling, but the shifter had a good grip on him.

Lex dove off the stage back and hurled into the joined combatants. He remembered at the last minute to hold his machete off to the side to avoid slicing Sam. The shifter lost his grip on Sam’s neck and rolled one way while Sam rolled the other. Lex tried to scrabble to his feet, but he was off balance and fell back on his ass. Fortunately, Sam was more limber. The tall Hunter came up on one shoulder, lunged for the shifter and thrust his knife into the monster’s heart.

The shifter slumped and went still.

Lex got his feet under him and stood up. “Sorry I wasn’t more help, Sam.”

Sam stood up, still watching the shifter, but the monster didn’t move. “You got him off me. I wasn’t sure I’d break his hold. That was a big help.” His gaze moved to the stage. “The other two?”

“Looks like Dean and Griff took one down, but...well...you need to see the other one.”

Frowning, Sam asked, “They’re okay?”

Lex nodded, sheathed his machete and vaulted onto the stage. “They’re fine. Got the last one covered.”

When he ducked again--maybe for the last time now?--under the curtain, little had changed. The one shifter still held the other one and was crying. Griff was covering him and Dean glanced up at them--Sam had just ducked through the curtain--and shrugged.

“He’s been like that since we killed the other one,” Dean said. “Yours?”

“Dead,” Sam said as he hopped off the stage and approached the two shifters.

“Careful, dude,” Dean warned.

“Griff’s got me covered,” Sam said as he approached and knelt down a few feet from the odd tableau.

“Hey,” he said. “What’s your name?”

Lex thought it was an odd question to ask, but the shifter looked up, tears still flowing down his face. “Billy,” he said. “And you killed my sister.”

Oh shit. Shifters had families? Lex hadn’t anticipated that.

***

It took a little while, but Sam got Billy talking. Griff stayed alert, covering the monster the entire time. Although, the more Sam talked to him, the more Griff started thinking of him as more of a kid and less of a monster.

Apparently, Billy’s entire “family” had been shifters. Other than Billy and his sister, they hadn’t been related, but there had been five of them: two adults and three young teens. Sam had killed the other teen, but Billy hadn’t been close to him, and that death didn’t bother him like his sister’s had.

The two adults had been killed by Hunters a few weeks earlier, and the young shifters had continued the faith healer scam started by their adoptive parents. But they weren’t as skilled at it.

“Which explains the relatively sophisticated deaths but the clumsy crimes,” Dean said. “They knew how to maintain the healing scam but they didn’t have the knowledge to plan more sophisticated crimes.

Sam had taken over watching Billy while the other three conferred.

“What do we do with him?” Lex said.

Dean kept his voice down, but his tone was firm. “Kill him. He’s a monster.”

Sam must have heard or he knew his brother well enough to look up and shake his head, mouthing, “He’s just a kid.”

Lex found himself agreeing with Sam. “I’m all for killing monsters, but I’m not sure I’m okay with killing children.”

“This child is going to grow up to be a monster, Lex. He’s already killed at least ten people. And those are just the ones we know about so far.”

“I know that,” Lex insisted. “And if he’d fought us and been killed that way, I’d be okay with it. But I’m not going to just execute a kid who isn’t trying to kill me.”

“Trying to kill you _now_ you mean.”

“We’re not going to kill him,” Griff said, his tone making it plain that he wasn’t going to argue the point. “We’ll figure something out.”

“Garth,” Sam called from over by Billy, who was no longer holding his sister but was now hunched over, knees up against his chest. “Garth can handle a shifter teen.”

“Who’s Garth?” Griff asked.

“Friend of ours,” Dean said. “He’s a werewolf, but he’s a good guy. Doesn’t kill people.” His tone was grudging.

“Do you agree with Sam?” Lex asked. “Could this Garth person handle him?”

Dean nodded, although his expression made it plain he didn’t like admitting it.

“Then that’s what we do,” Griff said.

Lex could tell that Dean wasn’t happy to have Griff telling him what to do. It must rankle to have the Hunter you were training giving orders. Lex was sympathetic, but he agreed with his partner. Killing kids was never the thing to do.

Dean finally shrugged. “All right. But when we’re hunting him a few years from now, you’ll see I was right.”

Sam called Garth, who agreed to meet them at the Bunker to take the kid. Billy was oddly docile, and they were able to get him into the backseat of the Impala with little trouble. They explained that they weren’t going to kill him if he didn’t give them trouble. And that they were going to turn him over to a werewolf who’d raise him with his pack.

Billy just nodded at what they said but barely seemed aware of what was going on.

Dean and Sam traded off driving back to the Bunker while Griff and Lex stayed awake to watch the young shifter. Lex was exhausted when they finally arrived. Sam took Billy off to the dungeon--really?--and Lex dragged himself off to his room, followed by Griff.

Gabriel met them on the way. “So what do you think of Hunting, now?”

Lex straightened up and gave the answer some thought. “I like the hacking part just fine. It’s pretty much like what I did for the CIA. I need to work on my fighting. I felt like I held everyone back there.”

Griff put a hand on his shoulder. “You did fine, Lex. You’ll get better, but you did fine.”

“Sam said you saved him,” Gabriel said, his tone full of gratitude.

“I think Sam would have gotten free without me, but I was glad to help. So yeah, I think I like it so far. No regrets, although I hope we don’t have to make too many moral judgements like we did with Billy.”

“Seldom, but they do happen,” Gabriel said. “Griff?”

Griff shrugged. “It’s better than being in a mental hospital, and it’s a good use of my skills. Sam and Dean are already a good team, and I think I’ll enjoy working with them.”

Gabriel gave them both a smile. “Get some sleep, then. We’re about to start Phase Two of the fight against Michael. Good to have you on board.”

Lex finished his trudge to his room and collapsed on his bed. Yeah, that fight against Michael sounded like it would be a doozy.

He’d worry about it after he got some sleep.


End file.
